fiilo

fiilo is a minimalist, contemporary lifestyle brand - producing uniquely crafted environmentally conscious products using the latest 3D printing technology.

The initial idea for fillo began in 2015 whilst I was attempting to develop a hydroponics system that could screw into a standard plastic bottle to grow herbs. In order to speed up the prototyping phase I began using 3D printers. I later purchased my first 3D printer to begin prototyping in house. The design of the hydroponics system was tricky architecturally and required a lot of R&D to establish a 3D design what was feasible to print.

During the prototyping phase I began to experiment creating various 3D designed planters to house cacti and succulents in order pay off the 3D printer whilst I continued to develop the hydroponics system .

To reduce the amount of plastics used in the manufacturing process I later sourced a supplier to provide a recycled filament from social enterprise in India which paid locals to collect plastics to recycle into 3D printing filament.

The vision was to provide affordable, yet well designed products that don’t have a negative effect on the environment.

Each products was made using 100% biodegradable PLA filament. PLA is a biodegradable thermoplastic, which is derived from renewable resources, such as cornstarch. This makes PLA the most environmentally friendly solution in the domain of 3D printing.

fiilo was acquired in 2016 by an American buyer.

Stats 📈

Acquired in 2016
10 products
Products shipped to 16 countries
Sold in 4 London retail stores
Bought and operated 3 3D printers

Design & Branding 👨‍🎤

The name fillo doesn't actually mean or stand for anything - I wish I could say it did. We decided early on we wanted a short and simple name, something we could have in a lower case format and more importantly a name we could get the social handles and short url on the cheap.

The logo design was by my co-founder using Photoshop.

The design of the website followed a very simple minimalist theme on Weebly (origami). We wanted to ensure our products stood out and looked visually appealing.

All the product photography was undertaken at my flat using a semi professional camera, wonky stand, and makeshift lighting box.